1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to suction devices used to evacuate and clean surgical sites within the body that are exposed during a surgical procedure. More particularly, the present invention relates to suction devices that are used during the different stages of a total hip arthroplasty procedure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The medical field is replete with different types of suction devices that are used to evacuate and/or irrigate sections of the human body exposed during surgical procedures. Many of the suction instruments are generic in design and are used by surgeons in a wide variety of procedures. Such generic suction devices include Yankauer instruments, Poole instruments, Frazier instruments, sigmoidoscopic instruments and the like. Other suction devices are specifically designed for use in a single type of surgical procedure and have few applications outside of that surgical procedure.
The amount of suction required in a surgical procedure is directly proportional to the amount of blood and debris released within the surgical cavity by that surgical procedure. The removal of blood and debris from a surgical cavity is important in order to prevent the many different complications that may occur if the surgical cavity is not properly evacuated prior to the cavity being closed.
Few traditional operations create more debris during the coarse of the operation that does a total hip arthroplasty, wherein the hip joint is replaced. In the course of a traditional total hip arthroplasty, a femoral neck osteotomy is performed, wherein the neck of the femur is removed. A reamer is then used to ream the femoral canal to make space for the femoral prosthetic device. Likewise, the acetabular socket in the hip is reamed to make space for an acetabular cup. As the femoral canal and the acetabular socket are reamed, a great deal of debris is generated. The debris is a mixture of blood with large and small pieces of bone and bone marrow.
The reaming of the femoral canal and the acetabular socket are typically performed with dedicated reamers that are designed to remove as much material as is possible from the cavity being reamed. An example of a femoral canal reamer is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,747 to Richelsoph, entitled Device For Removing Cancellous Bone. Examples of acetabular socket reamers are shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,165 to Salyer, entitled Acetabular Reamer Cup and U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,653 to Kudla, entitled Reamer For Shaping Bone Sockets.
Although dedicated prior art reaming devices for the femoral canal and the acetabular socket do remove much of the debris created by the reaming procedure, they do not remove all the debris. Consequently, prior to the placement of a prosthetic device into a reamed cavity, a surgeon will typically suction the reamed cavity. By sectioning the reamed cavity, the surgeon hopes to remove any small fragments of bone or other debris that my be detrimental to the patient if left in place. Although surgeons rely upon specialized instruments to ream the femoral canal and the acetabular socket, they typically do not use specialized instruments to clean the femoral canal and acetabular sockets after they have been reamed. Rather, surgeons commonly rely upon manual wiping and general purpose suction devices to complete the cleaning task.
As the femoral canal and acetabular socket are reamed, debris adheres to the walls of the reamed surfaces. Accordingly, to properly clean the reamed surfaces, the reamed surfaces must be wiped while the debris is being evacuated. The simultaneous wiping and suctioning of debris takes a significant portion of the surgeon's time and adds significantly to the length and cost of the surgical procedure.
The shape of a reamed femoral canal is very different from the shape of a reamed acetabular socket. Consequently, wiping implements and suction implements that are useful for the femoral canal are typically not proper for use within the acetabular socket. As a result, a surgeon must change implements and connect different suction devices to the suction source. This also adds to both the length and the cost of the surgical procedure.
A need therefore exists for a suction system that is specifically designed to assist a surgeon in a total hip arthroplasty, wherein the suction system more effectively cleans the surgical cavities and reduces the time required for the surgical procedure. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.